Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Cafe 52 pavilion to stay for good as Scottish Government dismisses council’s concerns about historic Green

Holyrood decision-makers say the local authority was too strict in ordering the hut to be removed after three years.

Cafe 52 pavilion to stay for good as Scottish Government dismisses council’s concerns about historic Green
Holyrood decision-makers say the local authority was too strict in ordering the hut to be removed after three years.

Cafe 52’s glass hut will be allowed to remain on Aberdeen’s Green after the Scottish Government overruled local heritage leaders.

The diner installed the structure some time ago, and a row recently erupted when owner Steve Bothwell had to apply for permission to keep it there.

Council historians argued that it looked out of place on the cobbled former marketplace, initially suggesting it should be torn down.

Scores of fans argued for the hut to remain in place. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson

Eventually, a compromise was struck.

Cafe 52 was told it could keep the hut – but just for three years. And then it would have to go.

Mr Bothwell subsequently took the fight to Holyrood, asking government ministers to intervene.

He accused the council of hypocrisy for opposing his modest dining area while constructing a modern £50 million replacement market just yards away.

How the new market will look. Image: Halliday Fraser Munro

Why did Cafe 52 appeal to Scottish Government?

The exact wording of the “time-limited consent” granted by the council stated that the “temporary building” would have to be removed from the site by the end of June 2026.

They said the “character and siting of the structure is not such as to warrant its retention on a permanent basis”.

The Cafe 52 outdoor seating area has been approved.
The Cafe 52 outdoor seating area has been approved by the Scottish Government. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson

The ruling was deemed to be “in the interests of preserving visual amenity and the character and appearance of the conservation area”.

We revealed last month that Mr Bothwell was appealing the decision.

What did the Scottish Government say about Cafe 52 hut?

Steve Field, a reporter appointed by politicians, has now given his verdict after visiting The Green on November 15.

He wrote: “I consider that the relatively light construction, low profile and and free-standing nature of the pavilion mean that it does not detract from the historic buildings on the north side of The Green.

“I also note that the structure has been in place for four years and could see from my site inspection that it has been well maintained in that time.”

A herring starter at Cafe 52. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

Do you think the Scottish Government made the right call? Let us know in our comments section below


One ruling is not music to Cafe 52’s ears though…

However, Mr Field waved away calls to remove a condition on when music can be played.

Though the hut can remain open from 9am to 11pm, any tunes will have to be switched off by 10pm.

You can see the appeal to the government here.

Conversation